Picking up the Pices
by Crystalline Maxwell
Summary: Nothing to do with GW except that Duo's in it. Sorry, no Quatre (Only mentioned) or Trowa, or any GW girls, but Catherine's there! R+R, this was hard to write.


Picking up the pices This is a pointless story, but it's good, I think! Nijuuichi means twenty-one in Japanese. And, sorry Hilde fans, this is about Nijuuichi and Duo's "relationship.' Not that there is much of one, you'll see what I mean. I don't own the Outlaw Star song, or Shampoo's restaraunt. They're just here. Remember to R+R!   
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The year is AC 201, with the war over the Gundam pilots don't have much to do. Heero and Relena parted ways, Trowa and Catherine's circus broke up when the ringmaster died, Quatre moved his company headquarters to Japan, where the entire Gundam Wing group was living, Wufei and Sally were living alone in the mountains and only visited around Christmas, or the pilots birthdays. This is about pilot 02, Duo Maxwell, who grew up among death, poverty, destruction, and more loss than most of the other pilots, who grew up before most of the death and stuff affected them. (IE Wufei's colony blew up before his eyes, Quatre watched his father die, and his sister die in his arms, Trowa lost his memory, Heero met Relena etcetera.) After the war a mysterious pilot came being chased by other dudes. Duo took Deathscythe Hell out of the hanger and killed all of the evil dudes. The girl (Who was Duo's friend on L2 before he became a pilot) was in a comma inside her Gundam. Duo went to find a doctor for her. The doctor, who was a psychopathic loony man, put a virus into her. (She was an android.) She was reactivated after Endless Waltz and had most of her old personality traits, which she started to loose after two years. Soon she went into protective shutdown because the virus was deleting her memory files. Her Gundam wasn't destroyed, they hid it under ground and deactivated it. After a year of randomly pushing buttons, Duo found the backup memory files she needed to survive. But, they had been tampered with by a virus (the one that put her in her coma) and didn't really help her regain her personality. On the contrary, her memory was almost completely erased. Duo had fallen in love with her (Hilde wasn't his type afterall)and was extremely disappointed that 'Crys- chan's' memories were gone. She decided to live with him in his apartment until she could find her own place to live. She never found that new place.   
*****   
It's been a year. I was activated a year ago.> Nijuuichi was sitting on a bridge near Tokyo Tower. Odd, I haven't really changed since then.> She stood up. I should get going. Duo might not like me being late for lunch again, not that I need it, I'm an android, after all.> When she got to the Cat Cafe she saw Duo sitting in the corner waiting for her as usual. And, also as usual, she spent the entire lunch hour watching him eat.   
"Why aren't you eating, Crys?" Duo said between mouthfuls of ramen.   
"I haven't been Crys for six years, and I've only been active for one of those six. And during that year one would think someone else would realize that androids don't eat." Nijuuichi said in her usual emotionless voice.   
Duo stood up and looked at the bio-android, "But your core is human, right? You still have a human base."   
"Whatever." Nijuuichi also got up, "Just pay Shampoo so we can go home. I really don't want to talk about my system, there's no point." With that she swept silently through the doors and into the street. Duo hurried to follow her. He never could match her swift, mechanical stride. She never slowed and never looked back. It was like following a zombie, except this zombie was blond and beautiful. Duo sighed, he'd never get used to the changes fate had thrown him.   
*****   
That day, after dinner, Nijuuichi was sitting on the roof watching the sunset. As the sky darkened she started singing;   
"I don't know what words I can say   
the wind has a way to talk to me.   
Flowers sleep, in a silent lullaby,   
I pray for reply, I'm ready.   
Quiet day calms me, oh serenity   
someone, please, tell me   
ooh what is it they say?   
Maybe I will know some day."   
"Bravo, Nijuuichi, bravo."   
"What the?" Nijuuichi spun around, nearly falling off the roof in the process, "Duo, what're you doing here?"   
Duo smirked, "I'll give you one hint: I live here. And," He sat next to her, "I wanted to ask you something."   
"Ask away. I can't stop you." Nijuuichi said, looking away.   
"I was wondering if you would like to come with me to Quatre's house for the Christmas dance. It's tomorrow night."   
"If I must, I will." Nijuuichi said, still avoiding Duo's eyes.   
"Great! I'll see you then," Duo said, optimistic as ever, "It's formal, so you need a dress."   
"I'm aware of that." Nijuuichi's voice was its usual monotone.   
Grinning hugely Duo stood up, "Well, you obviously don't want to talk. I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?"   
"Sure. Good night, Duo." Nijuuichi returned to looking at the sky.   
*****   
Later on Nijuuichi sat in her room, brushing her long, blonde hair. The lyrics to her song whirled around the inside of her artificial mind. My song? I've never heard it. The words did have a music to them, but... I know I've never heard anything like it.> She decided mentally to change the subject, A formal dress. What type? Something Duo would like... Duo, his eyes are dark blue... but my eyes are gold.> She opened her earing box and selected a pair of blue, crystal earrings. Duo gave me these. He'd probably like me to wear them for once...> Nijuuichi looked at the clock, Almost midnight. No customers should be at the store right now.> She got up and walked the short distance to the store. She knew she could get in because Duo's friend, Catherine, owned it. She taped on the window quietly. In a few minutes Catherine came down and let her in.   
"Nijuuichi! What are you doing at this hour? It's almost twelve thirty."   
"Catherine, I need a dress for Quatre's party... Could you give me one?"   
"Sure. I didn't think you liked parties, though."   
"Duo looked really thrilled. And since he, well..."   
"...Loves you with all his heart, you decided to do something nice for him."   
"No Catherine. Can I just have a dress?" Nijuuichi said, slightly annoyed.   
"Right this way. I've got nearly every type of dress you'd ask for. Blue, red, gold, strapless, anything!"   
"This one." Nijuuichi said pointing at a dress.   
"Okay Nijuuichi. Go try it on."   
"Check." Nijuuichi said as she went into the changing room to put it on. She came out. "Catherine, how's this look?"   
"Perfect!"   
*****   
"She isn't coming, Duo."   
"But Heero, she promised."   
"Duo," His friend said, "unlike you some people lie."   
"Crystalline never lied." Duo said with a slight pout.   
"Crystalline is dead. Now you have Nijuuichi to worry about. Don't live in the past."   
"Crystalline is not dead!"   
Suddenly the entire room went quiet. Duo and Heero looked up. A girl with her hair done up in two buns on either side of her head walked in. She was wearing a dress with a diagonal curved slit half way up her upper leg. It had some glittering crystal beads as fringe and the top was striped with thin lavender and turquoise stripes that seemed to glitter and shine when she moved, was walking straight towards them!   
"Hey Duo," She said, "do you like my new dress?"   
Duo's numbed brain kicked into gear at the sound of her voice. "Nijuuichi...?"   
"Who else?" She smiled slightly and pulled Duo onto the dance floor. The musicians started to play a slow song.   
Duo's mind was spinning, This isn't Nijuuichi... Nijuuichi doesn't smile so often, Nijuuichi doesn't smile at all.> "I've got a question."   
"Yes Duo?"   
"Er... Where'd you learn to dance?"   
"Something in my programming."   
Nijuuichi and Duo had a wonderful night. Duo, being a slight idiot, kept thinking it was a dream, and Nijuuichi's behavior was remarkably like that of a human girl.   
A week later...   
"You don't seriously believe that smiling and stuff makes you human? Ha! You're equal to a blender for all the good you do! Stupid artificial woman!"   
"I... you... jerk!" It was a rainy new years day and Nijuuichi was arguing with Duo's friend, Wufei Chang, whom she had just slapped across the face before running out the door.   
"I can't believe you! Now look what you did, Wufei!" Duo shouted from the stairs.   
"Humph, she's weak." Wufei said as he sat on the ground and sharpened his sword.   
Sighing, Duo put on his rain coat and went out into the rain to find Nijuuichi. After walking for almost an hour, and getting drenched to the bone, he found her. She was sitting in an alley, temporarily shut down.   
"Nijuuichi, wake up." Duo said, shaking her.   
Hearing her name Nijuuichi activated, and the first thing she saw... was a soaking wet twenty-one year old boy looking at her in slight shock, and partly in relief.   
"You're okay!" Duo said as he hugged her.   
"Du... Duo? What're you doing here?"   
"I've spent an hour looking for you! I'm so glad you're safe!"   
"What? Why on earth, Duo?"   
As if in answer to her question a gang appeared. "Well, well, well. Look at that. Ain't it just enough to warm yer heart, boys?"   
"Yeah boss, it sure is. Let's check the girl out."   
Nijuuichi and Duo backed away, "Get away from us you jerks." Nijuuichi said, with a slight growl.   
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't talk to yer date like that, pretty."   
"Date nothing! You jerks keep away from her!" Duo shouted, his eyes filled with anger.   
"Big talk for a runt-boy. You think you can take all five of us?"   
"Duo," Nijuuichi whispered, "Let's just go. This is a waste of time."   
"...I wonder what she's gonna be like in..."   
"What was that?" Nijuuichi glared at the gang members, "Do you want to mess with me?"   
"Ya might say that..." A skinny teen with a dagger said, grinning.   
"Go drown yourself!"   
"Boys, I don' think she wants to play."   
"Ding, ding! You win: nothing. Let's go, Duo."   
"You'd like to leave, wouldn't you?"   
Nijuuichi turned, "I am, and you can't stop me."   
Licking his dagger he replied, "You don' have much of a choice, little lady."   
Nijuuichi and Duo looked at each other, nodded and... sprinted out of the ally.   
"Duo, are you okay?" Nijuuichi asked a few minutes later, after they had stopped. "I think we lost them."   
Duo was panting heavily, "Yeah, I think so... Thanks."   
"You're welcome. Why did you get so angry back there?"   
Duo turned neon red, "I just... I... I didn't want anything to happen to you."   
"That's sweet." Nijuuichi said. Duo grabbed her wrist, "Yeah, Duo?"   
"Let's get going Nijuuichi. We have to be home soon."   
Nijuuichi smiled as she and Duo walked home hand in hand, Humans are sure hard to under stand.>   
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AAAAHHH!! I can't write worth squat!!! Did you like it? Review me! Was Duo even kept in character? Was Catherine? Was Wufei? AAAARRRRGGGGGGHHH!!! I should've paid more attention to the show!!! 


End file.
